1. How technology is changing the
practice of law
Analytics & Big Data & Project Management
eDiscovery
Management of Outside Counsel
Communications & Transparency
Data Security
PLI TechLaw Institute 2016: The Digital
Evolution
Panel: Ron Dolin,Panel: Ron Dolin, Matthew P. Kesner,
Philip Blum, and Curtis A. Meltzer
March 10, 2016March 10, 2016

2. “The future is already here – it’s just
not very evenly distributed.”
--William Gibson
Lauded Sci-Fi Author
Copyright (c) 2016 Ron Dolin and
Matthew P. Kesner

3. How Gibson’s Quote Applies to You
“Technology changing the practice of
law is generally not coming from those
practicing law.”
--Your Panel
Copyright (c) 2016 Ron Dolin and
Matthew P. Kesner

4. Susskind Is Not A 4-Letter Word
-No Practice Areas Are Impervious
-When, not If
-Innovation Enhances And Amplifies
Copyright (c) 2016 Ron Dolin and
Matthew P. Kesner

5. Drivers of Change
• Technology Drivers
– Increased digitization (of everything)
– Mobile devices and anywhere access
– Collaborative technologies and social networking
– Cloud computing, Saas, IaaS and PaaS
– Advanced analytics (and synthesis) capabilities
• Legal Drivers
– Courts have embraced e-Discovery and analytics
– Increased reliance on data to resolve disputes
Copyright (c) 2016 Ron Dolin and
Matthew P. Kesner

6. Drivers of Change (cont'd)
• People Drivers
– Client Demands for efficiency and collaboration
– Tech savvy attorneys and clients
– Traditional model is almost always unacceptable
Copyright (c) 2016 Ron Dolin and
Matthew P. Kesner

7. Day to Day Impact
• Informatics (Analytics, Prediction, Synthesis)
• Project Management; Process Re-engineering
• The Inevitable Move Toward Efficiency
• Automation: E-Discovery and TAR
• Management of Outside Counsel, Departments
• New Forms of Communications, Collaboration
• Increased Transparency
• Data Security and Client Information
• New New Things
Copyright (c) 2016 Ron Dolin and
Matthew P. Kesner

8. Informatics
• Data Gathering, Especially Clients
– Billing Codes
– Practice Areas
– Quality, Responsiveness, Outcomes
• Analytics (e.g. corpi)
• Prediction and AI:
– Machine Learning (Scoring Functions)
– Expert Systems
• Synthesis
Copyright (c) 2016 Ron Dolin and
Matthew P. Kesner

9. Big Data: Analytics, Prediction
• Rise of volume & complexity of data
• Role of Lex Machina
• Client Budgets & Metrics
– >50% of budgets to
non-traditional providers
– Comparing lawyers
• Client Satisfaction and
Data-Driven Decision-making
• Use of Big Data beyond e-discovery
Copyright (c) 2016 Ron Dolin and
Matthew P. Kesner

10. Project Management
• Clients Expect Now or Very Soon
– Even if they don't know they do
– Inherent in AFAs
• Appropriate Team Structure and Staff
– Biggest PM challenge at many firms
• Seems to vary by firm, practice and even the team
• Appropriate Tools
• Appropriate Business Model
• Appropriate Attitude
Copyright (c) 2016 Ron Dolin and
Matthew P. Kesner

11. Project Management
• Clients need and want predictability (or at least
predictable uncertainty)
• Role of Checklists that do something
• PM tools--shared Agile or Kanban Boards
Copyright (c) 2016 Ron Dolin and
Matthew P. Kesner

12. Efficiency:
Processes Flow Like Water
Copyright (c) 2016 Ron Dolin and
Matthew P. Kesner

13. Automation: E-Discovery & Predictive Coding
• Vendors do more than just host and firms do more
than just practice law—define client expectations
• Maybe not “Big Data”…but reasonably large data
• Sampling, QC, and comparing counsel are all legit uses today
• Google-like expectations still not met at large law
firms
– Experiments at Axiom, Riverview, SEAL and eBrevia
• What if you have a better collection of client’s data
than the client has?
Predictive coding technology is
proven and availableCopyright (c) 2016 Ron Dolin and
Matthew P. Kesner

14. Management of Outside Counsel
• Costs, costs, and costs
– Standardized Billing Codes (e.g. UTBMS), E-billing
systems & e-budgets fed directly to finance dept.
– Budget Estimates with Accountability
– “UCR” equivalent
– Ability to compare law firms as “vendors”
– AFA's: OC as Black Box
Copyright (c) 2016 Ron Dolin and
Matthew P. Kesner

15. OC: Proportionality
• Choosing Counsel
– Analytics services: (Ex: Sky Analytics)
• What you charge
• % you discount
• win/loss %
• client satisfaction numbers
– Online reviews of 200,000+ lawyers=Avvo
• Standard Quality Metrics, Outcome Correlations
– What Do You Want To Be Judged By?
Copyright (c) 2016 Ron Dolin and
Matthew P. Kesner

16. OC: Unbundled Services
• OC limited engagement
• Consumer style expectations
• Documents increasingly commodity
• Client specific automation
Copyright (c) 2016 Ron Dolin and
Matthew P. Kesner

17. Management of Law Departments
• Some in-house legal treated like other depts.
– Asked to prove ROI—reduce costs, increase output,
improve quality
• Easy to get this info from you? Easier to get from non-traditional
vendor?
• Better, Cheaper, and Faster
• In-house use of technology for everything
Copyright (c) 2016 Ron Dolin and
Matthew P. Kesner

18. Communications, Collaboration
• Virtual interactions: More Skype and less
conference room bagels
• Instant Communications
– Clients accustomed to immediate responses—but
know when to say when
– Billion dollar question in a 30 second call
• Collaboration technologies: data rooms, shared
platforms and work spaces connected to
knowledge management tools…
Copyright (c) 2016 Ron Dolin and
Matthew P. Kesner

19. Communications, collaboration
• Email—our preferred tool
– Like democracy, email is a terrible tool, it is just
better than everything else…until now.
• Email lacks easy-to-find context
• Efficient work groups outside law don’t use email
• New Tools Example: Slack
– Mixes instant messaging, topical conversations
and KM
– But workable for attorneys?
Copyright (c) 2016 Ron Dolin and
Matthew P. Kesner

21. Transparency
• Transparency
– Why does your client have more knowledge about
a $20 book purchase than her $200M matter with
you?
– It is beyond time that our entire timekeeping and
billing process is online with client access
– Ultimately, clients don't care about your cost, they
care about their cost.
Copyright (c) 2016 Ron Dolin and
Matthew P. Kesner

22. Data Security & Client Information
• With advent of nation-state hacking, it may be
impossible to use computers and keep client
confidences
• What we can do:
– Encrypt all data at rest and data in transit
– Don’t make it easy—use VPN or MiFi outside office
– Phishing is #1 risk—understand it
– Security awareness training
– Cloud service SLA's matter
Copyright (c) 2016 Ron Dolin and
Matthew P. Kesner

23. New New Things
• Competitors
• Markets (e.g. API's)
• Training (tech, PM, design, etc.)
• Business Structures
• Attitudes
Copyright (c) 2016 Ron Dolin and
Matthew P. Kesner